Love in the Ocean
by TRikiD
Summary: The Octonauts have discovered many amazing things in the ocean, but now they will discover something they've never encountered before: love.
1. Chapter 1

Love in the Ocean

Chapter 1 – Cute Nicknames

Captain Barnacles began his day like he always did; he was always the early bird whose breakfast was a healthy bowl of cornflakes cereal, and then he would always took the Gup-A out to check around the outside of the Octopod to make sure it was still functioning, but then he headed out to see if there was any sea life in need of help.

Most mornings were peaceful; Barnacles hardly found any creatures in danger…but that was going to change this one cool autumn morning out in some tropical waters.

Captain Barnacles had his eyes peeled for any sign of danger, and his paws were clasped tightly to the Gup-A's wheel while swimming over a colorful reef when…

"AAAHHH!"

"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!"

Barnacles' ears instantly perked up when he heard the screams of what sounded like two girls, and he swore he heard it come from below, further deep into the coral reef; the polar bear swooped down to get a better view, and what saw shocked, so he immediately activated his air bubble and got out of the submarine.

He quickly swam down to what seemed like a distressed female dolphin laying on some sponge beds, and there was female polar bear by her side; the polar bear wore a dark orange jacket with the same color jeans and boots, and she also wore a fluffy, long, white scarf around her neck, and had her hair done in a short pony tail, which was inside an air bubble much like Barnacles.

"What's the problem?" Barnacles asked firmly.

"Oh, thank goodness; this is my friend Penelope, and she just went into to labor to have her baby, but she lost her pod," the female polar bear explained with fear, as her dolphin friend started panting slightly.

"Can you please help us?" the female bear pleaded.

"Of course. Can you make it to the Octopod? It's not that far a swim, and I have a friend there that could help," Barnacles replied softly to Penelope.

"I-I think so…" Penelope said meekly while starting to swim off the sponge bed, "yes…I think I can make it."

So, with that, Barnacles and the female polar bear got into the Gup-A, and they swam slowly so Penelope could catch up, as Barnacles lead her to the Octopod.

* * *

Luckily, they were able to make it just in the nick of time into the launch bay when Penelope couldn't swim anymore, and Peso was successfully able to help her prepare to have her baby, and now, the whole crew was gathered in the launch bay to be there for her.

"Is this your first baby, Miss Penelope?" Peso questioned while remaining by the said pregnant dolphin's side.

"Yes…and I'm very scared…you know what you're doing, right?" Penelope asked in pain.

"I sure do; I can assure you, Miss Penelope, both you and your unborn calf are in great fins. Now, calm down, and take deep breaths in and out," Peso explained firmly, and Penelope did as he said.

"Ok, ok…can you please hold my fin, Bonnie?" Penelope questioned while holding her fin up to the female polar bear.

"Of course, I'm right here, Penelope," Bonnie reassured while grabbing her fin.

"Wait a minute…Bonnie?!" Barnacles asked with shock when he realized something about the said polar bear.

"What?" Bonnie questioned, but then her eyes popped wide and she squinted at Barnacles for a second before smiling brightly.

"Barnacles?!"

"AAAAHHH!" Penelope suddenly screamed.

"Guys, I don't think now is the time!" Peso pointed out while jumping into the water to deliver the calf.

"Oh, right…you can do it, Penelope!" Bonnie cheered while averting her attention back to the said dolphin in labor, and that's when the calf started to come out.

But about eight minutes later, Peso had helped Penelope safely give birth to her first calf, as the young dolphin was snuggled underneath his mother's fin, and the whole crew was happy to see the adorable baby.

"Congratulations, Miss Penelope; you and your son are perfectly healthy," Peso happily pointed out.

"Oh, thank you all SO much; I never would have been brave enough to go through this alone," Penelope said with a smile, "and thank you especially, Bonnie and Captain Barnacles for coming to my rescue."

"What are friends for?" Bonnie asked while smiling.

"Always happy to help," Barnacles added.

"What are you going to name him, anyway?" Shellington soon questioned.

"I'm going to call him…Bonnie," Penelope replied softly, and her son Bonnie reacted to his new name by giving his mom a little chitter.

"Awww…shucks," Bonnie, the polar bear, said sheepishly while blushing.

"Now, I advise for you and your son stay here for the day while we look for your pod on the sonar," Peso pointed out gently.

"Ok. Thank you again, Peso," Penelope sighed.

"By the way, Cap, you looked like you and Bonnie here knew each other," Tweak added with confusion.

"Yes, we do. Octonauts, this is my best friend Bonnie; she grew up with my sister Bianca and I, and we've all been great friends since we were cubs…but we haven't exactly stayed connected for a long time, huh?" Barnacles introduced his old friend.

"No, but I don't blame you; you've been busy helping sea life all over the world, and I'm so proud of you for that," Bonnie reassured while placing a paw on Barnacles' shoulder, "oh, but still miss our cub hood days; always going head to head with each other when wrestling."

"Yes, those were the good old days," Barnacles sighed with a smile.

"And we can't forget the cutest names we had for each other!" Bonnie added whimsically.

"U-uh, maybe not mention that, Bonnie…" Barnacles muttered under his breath while starting to blush.

"Names, eh? What kind of names, Matey?" Kwazii asked with a grin.

"I always called him Barney," Bonnie replied, and Kwazii immediately tried to stifle a laugh.

"Oh, and what was that name you called me? It's been so long, I just can't remember," Bonnie stated sarcastically.

…

"Ahem…I called you…Bon-Bon," Barnacles cleared his throat, and his blush became even redder, and that's when Kwazii suddenly burst out laughing.

"Do you always have to deal with this?" Bonnie questioned while cocking an eyebrow at the pirate cat now rolling all over the floor in crazed laughter.

"You have no idea," Barnacles muttered in reply.

"Hmm…what if I was on your crew?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

"What? You want to be an Octonaut?" Barnacles asked with shock, but everyone else was just as surprised.

"Sure. Why not? We've got some catching up to do anyway, right old buddy?" Bonnie replied.

"Well…ok…now that I think about it, I could really use a co-captain," Barnacles thought out loud.

"I'd be happy to be your co-captain!" Bonnie cheered.

"Then welcome aboard, Co-captain Bonnie!" Barnacles said firmly with a smile, and he saluted to her, and she saluted back.

The other Octonauts cheered for their newest crew member, and even Kwazii stopped laughing to cheer for Bonnie.

"Aye, welcome aboard, Matey!"

"And for my first mission, I'd like to help look for Penelope's pod," Bonnie added firmly, and then she glanced at the Gup-A, "mind if I take that one out—Captain?"

"The Gup-A? Well…are you a good driver?" Barnacles asked with worry.

"I've never actually driven anything before," Bonnie replied, and everyone's eyes went wide.

"I wouldn't advise you ta drive any of the Gups without any drivin' experience, Co-Cap," Tweak added.

"But nonetheless, everyone's help counts; I'll take the Gup-A out on the search for the pod, but you can come with me," Barnacles pointed out, "and maybe I'll teach you to drive."

* * *

About an hour had gone by, and Barnacles and Bonnie were still searching for Penelope's pod in the Gup-A, and they were so far out that they couldn't even see the Octopod anymore.

"So…how is it…being a captain, I mean?" Bonnie asked slowly to break the awkward silence.

"It's all worth it; the crew is like my family, and I'll do anything to protect them—to protect all that are innocent, in fact," Barnacles replied, but then he shook her head, "well, what about you? What have you been up to all these years, Bonnie?"

"I've actually been swimming south ever since you left the arctic, in hopes that maybe I would find you again, but I was mostly trying to help sea life too."

"Hmm. Sounds like we haven't missed much, but it's still great to see you again, Bonnie, and even better to have you on my crew."

"It's a pleasure to be an Octonaut, Barney."

"Um, yeah, about our names…could we please not use them in front of the other?" Barnacles asked while blushing again.

"Why? Is such a strong and brave polar bear like you afraid of being called a cute name by your best friend, who always beat you whenever we wrestled—Feather Paws?" Bonnie prolonged with a smirk.

"I had forgot that that name was actually YOUR idea," Barnacles grumbled under his breath with realization.

"Anyway, when can I learn to drive the Gup-A?"

"Well, I can teach you now, actually."

With that, Barnacles moved out of the way, and Bonnie immediately leapt over and took the wheel; she smiled brightly and her eyes were filled with excitement.

"Now, since you're a first-time driver, just take it slow-AAAHHH!" Barnacles tried to explain, but Bonnie suddenly sped the submarine up, and the sudden extreme acceleration nearly knocked Barnacles off his feet.

Bonnie drove the Gup-A all over the place; she was swimming up, diving down, and even barrel rolling while barely nicking some rocks or coral.

"I SAID TAKE IT SLOW!"

That's when Bonnie suddenly slammed down on the breaks, and the breaking was so immediate, that Barnacles was literally thrown forward and landed flat on the windshield.

"Whoops…you ok?" Bonnie chuckled sheepishly while reaching up to help Barnacles down.

"Sure… but I guess that wasn't TOO bad for your first time…much better than Shellington, anyway," Barnacles joked, but when Bonnie reached up to help him down, she grabbed his hips, and things only got worse when she pulled him down; Barnacles lost his balance, and he accidentally fell back onto Bonnie.

The two were sent in a bit of a tumble, and when they stopped, they found themselves in the awkward position that Barnacles was flat on his back…and Bonnie was lying on top of him. But soon, they shook the dizziness from their eyes, and they gasped when they realized what position they were in.

"U-uh…" was all Bonnie could say, as she sat up, and now she was straddling Barnacles, making things more awkward.

"Ahem…this is awkward," Barnacles muttered, and they both started to blush and avoid eye contact, but that's when Bonnie finally pushed herself off, and she leant a hand to Barnacles to take, in which he took.

"You're, uh…you're a pretty good teacher," Bonnie chuckled with embarrassment.

"Why don't we, um…?"

"Never speak of this?" Bonnie interrupted.

"Yes, let's not."

* * *

When the two polar bears returned to the Octopod, the rest of the crew was very confused as to why they returned to soon with no news on Penelope's pod.

"Ya mean ya didn't one dolphin pod?" Kwazii asked with suspicion.

"Besides, you two weren't gone that long," Shellington added.

"Yes, well…we think there might be some…technical difficulties with the Gup-A," Barnacles lied.

"And…I haven't been shown around the Octopod yet, so I should really familiarize myself with the ship!" Bonnie quickly added while lying too, and she and Barnacles darted out of the launch bay.

…

"What was all that about?" Dashie questioned.

* * *

 **You guys decide. Do you want this to be a collection of drabbles, or a progressing story?**

 **Also, I might create a female OC for Shellington in the future, but I might take other requests too, so don't be afraid to ask.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Dreaming about Friends

Chapter 2 – Dreaming about Friends

Later that night, the Octonauts finally found Penelope's pod, and it was waiting outside the Octopod for her and her calf; Bonnie swam out with her friend and her new son to say goodbye.

"You sure you'll be ok now?" Bonnie asked before Penelope and her son Bonnie swam off.

"Oh, of course; I've got my pod to protect me, and I'll never be afraid, knowing I have a friend like you," Penelope replied softly, and she and Bonnie shared a big hug.

"Don't forget about me; I won't forget about you," Bonnie added softly.

"Yes, and make sure to come visit us sometime!"

The female polar bear and the two dolphins turned to find Captain Barnacles swimming out of the Octopod and joining them.

"Oh, we'll definitely make sure to find you, especially after all you've done for us; say thank you, Bonnie," Penelope told her son, and her young calf swam forward to the two polar bears.

"Thank you," Bonnie said in a adorable little voice, "but I have a question…when me and Mommy come and find you, can I play with your kids?"

That certainly surprised Bonnie and Barnacles, and they both started to steam up and blush while trying not to look at each other, only to fail miserably.

"Bonnie…sorry, you know kids," Penelope chuckled while pulling her son under her fin.

"It's ok, he didn't know any better," Bonnie reassured, but then she smiled at the dolphins, "bye, guys, safe travels."

"Thank you. Come on, Bonnie," Penelope said while turning and swimming towards her pod, and Bonnie followed in her slip stream, and it wasn't long when the whole pod swam away.

"Such a cute calf, huh?" Bonnie asked while she and Barnacles happily the dolphins swim away.

"Yes…and very direct too," Barnacles added with embarrassment.

"Well, I think it's cute that we think we're together…I mean…maybe we can be more than just friends someday," Bonnie pointed out softly, and then she swam back to the Octopod without another word.

But Barnacles was left speechless; he always saw Bonnie as his best friend his entire life…but maybe things really are different now.

Meanwhile, when Bonnie resurfaced in the launch bay, Shellington was actually waiting for her there while glancing into her sketch book.

"Oh, Bonnie, just the polar bear I wanted to see; could you help me with something?" Shellington questioned.

"Sure. What do you need?" Bonnie asked while pulling herself out of the water and deactivating her air helmet.

"Well, you said you needed to see the rest of the Octopod, so why not come help me with a little researching in my lab? It'll be fun."

"Hmm…why not?"

With that, the sea otter and the female polar bear headed up to the Octopod's research lab, which was also Shellington's bedroom, and the otter was waiting by his microscope.

"Hand me that specimen example plate, right there," Shellington said while pointing to a microscope plate to Bonnie's left, and she soon grabbed it carefully and handed it to the sea otter.

"Thanks."

"So, what is it?" Bonnie questioned when Shellington placed the specimen plate under his microscope and looked through it.

"I'm checking out a DNA sample of red sea urchins."

"Why?"

"They're all hiding away and multiplying now a-days, and that can only mean one thing: sea otters."

"Ok…"

"It means we'll be closing in on some other sea otters' territories…and some otters become very aggressive and territorial," Shellington replied with worry while glancing back up at Bonnie.

"Why's that?"

"Well…it's THAT time of the year for us sea otters, and, um…" Shellington had a difficult time of saying it while also blushing.

"Oh, I get it…'spring fever', huh?" Bonnie asked with a smirk while crossing her arms.

"Ahem…yes, well…I won't be taking part in any of that; I've got duties here on the Octopod, and besides, I'd rather be here researching new species."

"But shouldn't you be with your kind, Shellington?" Bonnie asked with concern.

"Well, I COULD…but that doesn't mean I want to."

"Well…ok, what ever makes you happy…in the mean time, do you have any books of tropical marine life?"

"Of course, they're right over there on the top shelf."

Bonnie left for the book shelf Shellington pointed to, but that left him to actually think about what he told Bonnie about sea otters…he could go back, and just for a little while, but he loves life out in ocean, traveling in the Octopod. How could he just leave it?

But with those thoughts on his mind, Shellington soon found his eyes to be quite drowsy, and it wasn't long before he leaned over is counter and fell asleep.

* * *

 _Shellington started having dreams of when he was just a little pup, and he grew up on the shores of Scotland in the morning, and he wore a green bandana around his neck at that time, but he wasn't alone on the beach._

 _"_ _Fiona!" little Shellington called out from atop a sandy hill on the beach, and what came running up to him was another sea otter pup just Shellington's age, but she was also pure white._

 _"_ _Hey, Shelly!" Fiona cheered when she pounced Shellington, and the two were sent into a little tumbling pile further down the hill._

 _"_ _Hey, no fair!" Shellington laughed as they continued to roll down, but they were headed for a small bump in the slope, and it acted as a ramp when they came up to it._

 _The two young sea otters were sent flying high through the air, and they were both screaming in terror; when Shellington landed, he luckily fell on the shore, but Fiona wasn't as lucky, and she fell far out into the deeper water, and she was still so young and didn't know how to swim yet._

 _"_ _FIONA!" Shellington called out in fear when he saw his best friend struggle to swim up and breath, but she only sank, so he immediately ran and dove into the water to save her._

* * *

 _Later that night, the two otters were sitting up on the sandy beaches, but Fiona was shivering more than Shellington after that traumatizing moment; that, and it was getting colder._

 _But Shellington felt bad for her, and he had an idea to warm her up; he wasn't as cold, and took off his green bandana and tied it around her neck since it was warm with his body heat. And Fiona was actually rather surprised that Shellington gave her his favorite thing._

 _"_ _Thank you," Fiona said softly while feeling warmer already, and then it was her turn to surprise Shellington by suddenly leaning in and giving him a hug, but he soon returned it._

 _"_ _We'll always be best friends, right?" Shellington asked gently._

 _"_ _Always," Fiona confirmed when she pulled back and ended the hug._

 _"_ _Fiona!" a female otter called from the other side of the beach, and it was actually Fiona's mother._

 _"_ _Coming, Mom!" Fiona called back, but Shellington sighed sadly since it was time for his friend to go, so she gave him a friendly punch before running off, and they started laughing again._

 _"_ _Bye, Shelly!" Fiona shouted while running to her mom and waving back._

 _"_ _Bye, Fiona," Shellington said quietly._

* * *

But that's when Shellington started to wake up, but he didn't notice the fact that he was mumbling in his sleep; he woke with a slight gasp, and he realized that not even hour had gone by, and he was still leaning over his research counter.

"So, who's Fiona?"

Shellington quickly glanced up to find Bonnie staring down at him with confusion.

"W-what do you mean?" Shellington yawned while standing straight up.

"You were talking in your sleep; you were mumbling some girl's name…so, who's Fiona?" Bonnie urged.

"Oh, well…she was a…another sea otter I knew as a pup," Shellington replied sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"Really? Do you know what happened to her?"

"No, actually…I guess she just grew up."

"Hmm…well, maybe you'll see her again; Barnacles and I haven't seen each other in years either, and yet here we are," Bonnie pointed out with a smile.

"Well, that would be nice, but I doubt it; I don't know where she is," Shellington sighed sadly.

But that's suddenly when the Octo Alert was blaring, and Barnacles called everyone to the HQ, so Shellington and Bonnie headed down the Octo Chute one at a time before meeting everyone else at HQ.

"What's the problem, Maties?" Kwazii was first to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"The Octopod recently picked up a distress call from a nearby kelp forest; there's someone trapped inside, and they can't hold their breath much longer," Dashie informed while cascading through all the information in the computers, but then her ears quickly perked up, "oh, here's a picture!"

Soon, Dashie pulled up a picture on the main screen, and what was pulled up was actually a fully grown, female seat otter with albino fur, and she wore an old green bandana around her neck, but she wasn't fairing so well; she was holding her breath and struggling to get untangled from the kelp.

"JUMPING JELLYFISH!"

"What is it, Shellington?" Barnacles questioned when the said sea otter shouted in shock.

"I have to help her!" was all Shellington could say before he suddenly sprinted for the ladder down to the launch bay, and he slid down it.

"Shellington!" Barnacles called, but the sea otter didn't stop.

Shellington soon jumped into the Gup-C, and he opened the hatch and drove it out of the Octopod before anyone could stop him. He was then heading out for the kelp forest just a few miles north of the Octopod.

But Barnacles and Bonnie both hopped into the Gup-A, and Bonnie was a better driver when it came to higher speeds, so she took the wheel and punched it to follow Shellington.

Meanwhile, Shellington quickly came up to the kelp forest, but it was hard to see anything since it was still nighttime. So, the sea otter activated his air helmet and swam out of the submarine while pulling the sub's cable wire along with him, so that it would pull him out easily when he found who he was looking for.

The sea otter tied the cable around himself, and he carefully started swimming through the kelp that could easily get him stuck too…but that's when he saw HER.

Shellington stopped to find the same albino sea otter that Dashie showed him, but she looked even worse now that she was unconscious, and she was losing life by the minute.

So, Shellington quickly swam up to her and frantically started cutting and unwrapping the kelp from around her; when she was finally loose, he grasped her tightly with one arm and bright her back against his chest, and he used his other arm to tug on the cable, in which the machine read his signal, and the sub started to automatically pull him back.

"Whew…I'll have to remember to thank Tweak for that automatic cable pull-in she recently installed," Shellington mumble to himself.

Soon, Shellington pulled the albino sea otter into the Gup-C, and he gently placed her on the floor, but she still wasn't moving or breathing.

"Fiona…Fiona, please, wake up," Shellington softly begged for his best friend, but that's when she miraculously started to show signs of life when she lightly moaned.

"Fiona!" Shellington called one more time, and she groaned again, but this time she slowly blinked her eyes open, and the first blurry image she saw was Shellington, but she gasped when her vision became clear again.

"Sh-Shellington?" Fiona asked meekly while starting to sit up.

"Yes, it's me…a-are you ok?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine...a little c-c-cold, b-but fine," Fiona replied in a shiveras Shellington leant her hand and help her up on her feet, but she rubbed a paw to her head in pain.

"What happened?"

"I was on a b-boat when a humpback w-w-whale accidentally bumped it, and I-I fell over…and I c-couldn't swim, so I sank d-d-down into the kelp forest and got t-tangled," Fiona sadly explained while quivering.

"You mean you still can't swim?" Shellington asked with shock.

"N-no…not after that time when I f-f-fell in the water when w-we were pups…I've b-been scared of the water e-ever since."

"Well, you're safe now, and I can take you back to the Octopod dry off, and you can also get a check up from a friend of mine who's a medic."

"Thank you…oh, it's so g-good to see you again, Shelly!" Fiona cheered and suddenly gave Shellington a big hug, who was rather surprised at first, but he eventually smiled and hugged back.

"Barnacles to Shellington! Barnacles to Shellington! Are you alright?!" Barnacles called on the Gup-C's radio from the Gup-A, as Bonnie soon pulled up beside them.

"I'm fine, Captain; I want you to meet Fiona, she's an old friend of mine," Shellington said with a smile while introducing Fiona.

"Hello there!" Barnacles greeted happily.

"So YOU'RE Fiona! Ya know, Shellington was just dreaming about you!" Bonnie pointed out with a smirk, and Fiona chuckled sheepishly, but it sent poor Shellington into a blushing and steaming spree, and he nervously tugged on his collar.

* * *

 **Yeah...some of the content in this chapter might not qualify for K+ rating, huh? But try to ignore it!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


End file.
